And so it ends. The hope for a playoff spot. Peyton Manning proved to be a lot better than Nick Harper, and the Titans couldn’t find a way to disrupt him. It was a rough game to watch, and field goals proved to be the Titans response to touchdowns. That’s how this team has played against the Colts, and it’s a frustrating pattern. So without further adieu, I give you the review.

Peyton torched the Titans secondary and was upright all day

Why the Titans Lost

• Questionable Offensive Playcalling: Heimerdinger reverted back to some tendencies from the first 6 games that infuriated me. On the first 4th and Goal the Titans went for it, the Colts called a timeout. This, obviously, gives extra time for them to think about the playcall. Apparently, that was a bad idea, because Heimerdinger got cute and called for a fade route to Kenny Britt in the corner of the end zone. Problems with this call are that 1) A fade route IN GENERAL is a LOW percentage playcall. Even if it is Manning to Wayne, Brady to Moss, Montana to Rice, Brees to Colston, IT’S STILL A LOW PERCENTAGE PLAY. I also understand the thought process. They threw a slant to Britt earlier, so the Colts defender would be jumping the slant. REGARDLESS, it’s a bad playcall. 2) Vince isn’t that strong on throwing the fade. It’s just the truth. He actually threw it decently well, but the problem is with a fade route you have to throw it PERFECTLY. No margin for error. Vince has not matured to that point yet. 3) Kenny Britt is a rookie. A good rookie? Yes. An exceptional rookie? No. He isn’t Moss, Wayne, or Rice yet, and I doubt he ever will be. Frankly the call just doesn’t make any sense the way you look at it. And that wasn’t all. Heimerdinger had several head scratchers for playcalls throughout this game, including a complete misuse of LenDale White AGAIN.
• Nick Harper: The rest of the secondary played decently well. Not great by any means, but they did what they could considering it is Peyton Manning. Reggie Wayne was all but taken out of the game. BUT… Pierre Garcon continually torched the Titans secondary, and every time he seemed to get a big play, NICK HARPER was in on the coverage. It was painful to watch, and at SOME POINT Fisher has GOT to put Rod Hood in. Doesn’t he? Eventually? It is killing the Titans. The Fisher loyalty to veterans is starting to become a mockery.
• Turnovers: It’s hard to chastise Vince too much for his interception. The game was getting out of hand, the Titans needed a play, and Kenny Britt broke off the route just as he threw. Now while I doubt that would’ve changed the outcome (it wasn’t a good throw), you never know. Maybe Britt breaks it up, maybe the defender doesn’t catch it, maybe Britt finds a way to catch it. Who knows? That one in that situation has happened to every Quarterback worth his salt. In the 1st Quarter tied at 0-0 or a close game, and Vince throws it away. He tried to make a play in a situation where nothing was developing but the Titans needed a play desperately. The fumble by Ahmard Hall was infuriating, but with Ahmard it’s a risk. It was a good play call, good execution, good run by Hall and then he put the ball on the ground. Unfortunately two very forgivable turnovers produced a very unforgivable situation  of losing the turnover battle to the Colts by 2. Very few, if any, teams would beat Indianapolis when down 2 in the turnover column.
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Tags: Chris Johnson, Jeff Fisher, Mike Heimerdinger, Mike Heimerdinger bad play calls, Peyton Manning, Posse Review, Tennessee Titans vs. Indianapolis Colts Game Review, titans playoff hopes die, Vince Young, Vince Young's play against the Colts